“Some Questions of Catastrophe Theory” is the debut novel by the author of one of the most surprising bestsellers of recent years, “Night Cinema.” After sending several chapters of the book to the literary agent of her idol Jonathan Franzen, Marisha accompanied them with the following description: “This book won’t be like anything you’ve read this year: a funny, encyclopedic, and insanely ambitious story about love and loss, youth and aging, horror and betrayal.” The publisher offered an unprecedentedly high advance for a young debut author—and didn’t miscalculate. The book topped the bestseller lists and received excellent reviews from critics.
Meet Xin Wan Meer. She is unbelievably erudite in literature, philosophy, and science, can recite the number “pi” from memory to the sixty-fifth digit after the decimal point, and traveled across a huge number of cities throughout the country with her father, a professor (also, incidentally, a notorious flirt). At sixteen, her life will irreversibly change due to some dramatic events…